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Blockchain-based application at a governmental level: Disruption or illusion? The case of Estonia
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Abstract
Blockchain technology enables new kinds of decentralized systems. Thus, it has often been advocated as a 'disruptive' technology that could have the potentiality of reshaping political, economic and social relations, "solving" problems like corruption, power centralization and distrust towards political institutions. Blockchain has been gradually gaining attention beyond finance and is thus applied by a range of different actors. This includes local, regional, and national governments interested in the potentiality of experimenting with blockchain-supported governance. This article contributes to identifying blockchain as a contested socio-political object prone to contradictory political imaginaries regarding its potentialities, particularly when applied to policy. The article explores some of the most praised of blockchain's affordances (e.g. decentralization and transparency) in the context of Estonia, one of the most cited examples of blockchain governmental applications. Estonia has received international attention as the alleged first national infrastructure integrating blockchain. However, so far, few have asked: what kind of blockchain-based tools have been built by the Estonian government in practice and why? And to what extent do blockchain-based governmental applications reflect the original promises of disruption of the crypto-community? This article draws on a qualitative approach to explore several blockchain-based socio-technical objects to identify the narratives that have emerged in Estonia. The research shows clear contrasting views between stakeholders and technical experts from inside and outside the institutional sphere. The conflict revolves around two different social imaginaries associated with permissioned vs public blockchains. The paper concludes with an analysis of the profound political implications of each vision.
This chapter examines the public sector applications of blockchain technology in government. Blockchain has found quick adoption in the public sector with versatile uses across several domains. We survey these extant and potential uses of blockchain in this chapter. Governments mediate or undertake a plethora of transactions which require transparency, security, and integrity in the long term. Blockchain technology has a strong potential to fulfill these requirements for governmental operations. We highlight the technology’s application in transforming various such government functions. Exemplary governmental uses of blockchain include those related to real estate, digital identity, infrastructure management, safety, and emergency management, and smart contracts. These cases demonstrate how the blockchain technology’s applications transcend those of the traditional use in cryptocurrency. We posit that the blockchain technology can potentially enhance efficiencies in the delivery of public services securely across several domains, but the realization of these uses requires more institutional learning and acceptance of the technology.KeywordsDigital governmentPublic servicesSmart contractsReal estateSelf-sovereign identificationInfrastructure management
One of the most modern currents of anarchism — crypto-anarchism — arose as a response to the global development of digital technologies and the Internet and operates exclusively within the framework of the “global web”. The paper attempts to study one of the most unusual branches of anarchist philosophy and its impact on the digital life and politics of several states. With the help of functional and comparative methods of political research, the author analyzes crypto-anarchism as part of the ideology of anarchism, the main goal of which is to find out how viable crypto-anarchism is as an independent movement. The article raises the question of whether the ideas of crypto-anarchism can be used to effectively address current socio-political problems. The theoretical basis of crypto-anarchism looks more and more relevant, as it affects the security of the individual on the Web and is aimed at fighting against widespread state control. Despite the fact that, as the study showed, crypto-anarchism as a movement does not have sufficient elaboration and influence on real politics, its deeper study can be useful for preparing political programs aimed at Internet users (which constitute around 62.5 % of the global population), as well as studying political models and their development paths using virtual simulations and virtual states (Liberland, Wirtland), which are characteristic of crypto-anarchism.
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